Shell marking machine



Opt. 30, 1956 K. R. LEONARD 2,768,575

SHELL MARKING MACHINE Filed May 31, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 m V oINVENTOR. Kennefh R. Leonard.

ATTORNEY Oct. 30, 1956 K. R. LEONARD SHELL MARKING MACHINE 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 31, 1955 ATTORNEY Oct. 30, 1956 K. R. LEONARD2,768,575

SHELL MARKING MACHINE Filed May 31, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.Kenneth R. Leonard ATTORNEY K. R. LEONARD SHELL MARKING MACHINE 4Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 51, 1955 Fig. 2

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INVENTORY. Kenneth R. Leonard BY 2 a A T 7' ORA/E Y United States PatentSHELL MARKING MACHINE Kenneth R. Leonard, Denver, Colo., assignor to theUnited States of America as represented by the Secretary of the ArmyApplication May 31, 1955, Serial No. 512,353

7 Claims. (Cl. 101-39) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec.266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by orfor the Government of the United States of America for governmentalpurposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention is directed to a device for printing on the surface ofobjects which are of circular cross section but of varying diameters,such as shells, bombs, and the like. These articles have a cylindricalportion and also a tapering portion.

The printing is accomplished by rolling the article over type. Thecylindrical portion of the article rolls along a track and in doing sorolls over stationary type. Various portions of the tapering surfacealso roll over type, which, however, cannot be stationary for the reasonthat the movement of any point on the surface of the tapering portionrelative to a stationary member contacting it combines rolling andsliding, whereas the contact with the type must be pure rolling. Inorder to secure the latter relationship, I provide means for moving thetype during contact at a velocity equal to the sliding component of themotion of the corresponding point on the surface relative to astationary tangent. For each revolution of the article as it rolls alongthe track this sliding component is equal to the difierence between thecircumferences of the portion being printed and the portion rolling onthe track. For example, if the cylindrical portion of a shell has acircumference of nineteen inches and printing is being applied to aportion having a circumference of ten inches, the type contacting thelatter portion is moved nine inches per revolution of the article. Themovement of the type is in the same direction as the movement of thearticle and the velocities must at all times be in the correctproportion. For example, in the example just given, the velocity ofmotion of the type must at every instant be 9/19 times the rollingvelocity of the shell.

I secure this motion by the use of a positive drive mechanism whichimparts a constrained rolling to the article and, through a group ofproperly sized gears and racks, moves a series of type bars at theproper relative speeds.

In the drawing,

Fig. l is a top plan view of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a front side view.

Fig. 3 is a right end view.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line 4-4, Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view.

Fig. 6 is a partial longitudinal section on line 6-6, Fig. 4.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are diagrammatic views showing the relationship of themain drive rack and the subsidiary rack at various points in the cycleof operation.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged view of the sprocket chains and the pusherassembly.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary view showing one of the shoes of the pusherassembly.

The machine is mounted on a frame 1 which supports a table 3 and an inktray 5 and is preferably provided Patented Oct. 30, 195

with drawers 7 to hold type and other supplies. The table carries rubbercovered tracks 9 along which the shell to be marked is rolled and endguard 11, which is preferably adjustable, for positioning the shell.Between the tracks is fixed type 13 which contacts the cylindricalportion of the shell as it rolls along tracks 9. Stripping bars 15 mayalso be stationary if their points of contact do not vary greatly indiameter from the cylindrical portion.

In order to print indicia on the tapering portion of the shell, Iemploymovable type holders 17, 19, 21, 23 and 25. Each of these typeholders is independently movable and each is moved as the shell rollsover it at such a speed that the contact of the shell with the type issubstantially pure rolling, as explained earlier in this specification.

The mechanism for producing the proper movement of the various partswill now be described. Supported beneath the table is a double actingair cylinder 27 to which air is supplied by suitable conventionalconnections 29 controlled by manually operated valve 31. The piston ofcylinder 27 is connected by a link 33, which is preferably adjustable asto length, to main drive rack 35 which is mounted for reciprocation inguides 37 and which may be provided with anti-friction rollers 38.

Rack 35 meshes with main drive gear 39 secured to shaft 41 in which ishung from table 3 in bearings 43, 45 and 47. Also secured to shaft 41are sprockets 49 and 51, which engage sprocket chains pass over idlersprockets 57 and 59, and in their upper reaches pass beside tracks 9.

The chains 53 and 55 carry pusher bar assemblies 56 for rolling theshell along the track. These assemblies may be of any suitable form, oneembodiment being best shown in Figs. 4 and 10. Two spaced standards 61and 63 are secured to each sprocket chain by pivoted connections and arestabilized by shoes 67 which rest on the chain on its straightstretches. A pin 69 joins the standards and carries journaled rollers7.1. On the working stroke, main drive rack 35 drives main drive gear 39which turns sprockets 49 and 51, causing the pusher assembly to movefrom the left end of the table in Fig. l to the right end. On the returnstroke the assemblies 56 move back to the left end. For ease in loadingand unloading the apparatus, one pair of standards 61 should pass belowthe table at each end of the stroke.

A subsidiary rack 73 is mounted in guides 75 adjacent rack 35 and may beequipped with anti-friction rolls 76. These racks are provided withmutually engaging lugs so positioned that, during the portion of thecycle in which the pusher assembly is adjacent the type bars, the maindrive rack drives the subsidiary rack.

In the drawings, Figs. 5, 7, 8 and 9, I have shown on the main driverack 35 a lug 77 and on subsidiary rack 73 two spaced lugs 79 and 81lying one on each side of lug 77.

The cycle of operations can be seen from Figs. 7, 8 and 9. At Fig. 7 themain drive rack 35 is at the extreme left end of its path. As rack 35moves to the right, lug 77 at first does not engage rack 73, so that thelatter remains stationary. This phase of the cycle is shown in Fig. 8.As the movement to the right continues, lug 77 engages lug 81, movingrack 73 to the right until the end of the stroke, shown in Fig. 9, isreached. As will be apparent, the return stroke will eventually returnthe racks to the position shown in Fig. 7.

While we have shown two lugs on rack 73 and one on rack 35, it will beobvious that the reverse arrangement could be employed equally well, or,if desired, two lugs might be employed on each rack, with the lugscorrectly spaced to give the desired movement.

The lugs are so positioned that when the pusher assembly 56 reaches thetype, lug 77 engages lug 81, driving subsidiary rack 73 which rotatesmain type gear 83 which turns shaft 85, journaled in bearings 87, 89 and91 and thus secondary type gears 93, 95, 97, 99 and 101 which are.also'secured to shaft '85.

The type holders 17, .19, 21, 23 and 25 are secured to typera'cks 103,105, 107, I09 and 111 respectively, which racks are slidably mounted inbrass guides 113. These racks mesh with the secondary type gears 93, 95,97, 99 and 10 1 respectively. It will be noted that these gears aregraduated in size, gear 93 being the smallest and 101 the largest, sothat the racks move at progressively higher speed toward the right asviewed in Fig. 4. The gears are so proportioned that each type bar movesat the correct speed to produce pure rolling contact between the shelland the type. To secure good contact with the shells, the type holdersare preferably resiliently mounted oil-the racks, for example by springs115 and pins 117.

While I have described the apparatus in considerable detail, it will beobvious that numerous changes are possible. I therefore desire thisinvention to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. A device for printing indicia on articles having a cylindricalportion and a tapering portion comprising a track, positive drive meansfor rolling said article along said track, type so positioned as to betangential with said tapering portion, and positive drive connectionsbetween said positive drive means and said type so constructed andarranged as to move said type at such a speed as to give substantiallypure rolling contact between said type and said tapering portion, saidpositive drive means comprising a reciprocating means, and said positivedrive connections comprising a first rack driven by said reciprocatingmeans, a first gear driven by said first rack, a second rack connectedto said type and a second gear driven by said first gear and engagingsaid second rack.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said first and second gear aresecured to a common shaft.

3. A device for printing indicia on articles having a cylindricalportion of one diameter and a second portion having at least onediameter different from that of said cylindrical portion, comprising atrack for receiving said cylindrical portion, -a reciprocating meanscomprising a main drive rack, a main drive gear meshing Withsaid maindrive rack, at least one sprocket mounted to rotate with said main drivegear, a sprocket chain engaging said sprocket, a pusher assembly mountedfor travel along said track and connected to said sprocket chain, saidpusher assembly being adapted to .roll an individual article along saidtrack under constraint. type so positioned as to tangentially engagesaid second portion of said article as it is rolled along. said track, asubsidiary rack, cooperating means on said main drive rack and saidsubsidiary rack so positioned as to be engaged at the time said articlereaches said type, a main type gear fixed to a shaft and engaging saidsubsidiary rack, a secondary type gear fixed to said shaft, a type rackmeshing with said secondary type gear and directly connected with saidtype, said gears and racks being so proportioned as to cause said typeto move at such a speed that said second portion of said article willmake pure rolling contact with said type.

4. A device defined in claim '3 wherein said cooperating meanscomprise:a first lug on one rack and a second lug on the other rack positionedso as to be engaged by said first lug during a Working stroke of saidmain drive rack.

5. A device as defined in claim 4, and further comprising secondcooperating means on said main drive rack and said subsidiary rackconstructed and arranged to return-said subsidiary rack to its initialposition on a return stroke.

6. A device as defined in claim 5 wherein said second cooperating meanscomprise a third lug mounted on said one rack and spaced from said firstlug, said third lug beingso positioned as to engage said second lug onthe return stroke.

'7. A device as defined in claim 3 and further including fi-xed type sopositioned as to tangentially contact the cylindrical portion of saidarticle as it rolls along said track.

Shurley Feb. 22, 1938 Payne Feb. 6, 1945 mar we

